Touch For Health International Journal, 1990
Erasing Phobias, Addictions
and Obsessive Behaviors
by Thomas R. Margrave
Abstract. The phobia correction technique is a potent and effective tool with
applications in a wide range of situations. It is under-utilized largely because the
foundational concepts are not understood. Two key concepts are anxiety and
reversal. Understanding the nature and effect of anxiety allows a broader
application of the technique. A greater appreciation of the significance of reversals
and their elimination, helps the practitioner identify and resolve unconscious selfsabotage while enhancing the overall effect of the phobia technique. An effective
procedure for the application of these concepts is also essential.
"This morning, I walked up to the elevator in
the building where I work, pushed the
button, watched the door open, then close. I
must have stood there for at least five
minutes. Then, without really thinking about
it, I pushed the button again and entered the
elevator. What a power rush! ...the panic
I've always felt of being trapped without
anyone knowing where I was, wasn't there. I
exited the elevator feeling like such a strong
person. Words can't express how jubilant
and whole I felt. Again I was reduced to tears
of joy."
In spite of these facts, my experience is that
very few Touch For Health instructors use or
teach the techniques and, when they do, they
may get less than the desired results. Our
treatment of the techniques in the Facilitator
Manual is perfunctory. There is no mention
of applications other than phobias and it fails
to explain the underlying concepts that make
the phobia correction so powerful.
Achieving clarity concerning two of these
important concepts made a big difference for
me. The way we think about things often has
a major impact on how well we can use
information. The two concepts are anxiety
and reversal.
The above paragraph is excerpted from a
letter written by a woman who, for 23 years,
had been unable to ride an elevator alone. She
learned the phobia correction at a workshop I
teach entitled:
Erasing
Phobias, Addictions
Obsessive
Behaviors
Looking
At Anxiety
and
I have been having outstanding results with
the class. I want to share with you some of
the distinctions and understandings that have
contributed to that success.
Where We're
At
Many people within the Touch For Health
synthesis are already familiar with the phobia
tapping techniques pioneered by Dr. Roger
Callahan. In fact, Callahan presented his
work at a TFH Annual Meeting a few years
ago. The phobia technique is part of the 1FH
Facilitator program, and Callahan's book was
sold by the THEnterprises Bookstore for a
long time.
ANXIETY • is the body's physical/emotional response to two concurrent and
conflicting conditions-the
presence of a
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Touch For Health International Journal, 1990
PHOBIA • an unrealistic or irrational fear
that, in some way, interferes with or limits an
individual's experience of life.
perceived threat (eitherphysical or emotional)
and the absence (or perceived absence) of any
means to achieve a positive outcome in
response to the threat.
ADDICTION
• the habitual use of any
substance to the detriment of the individual.
Addiction is characterized by a strong,
compelling urge to use the substance of
abuse.
Why is this significant? The above definition
allows us to distinguish anxiety from fear.
Fear is an appropriate response to perceived
threats and unfamiliar experiences and is part
of the body's normal protective reflex. As
long as you are living and growing, you will
experience fear. See Joan Dewe's excellent
contribution Breakthrough the Boundaries of
Fear in last year's TFH Journal.
OBSESSIVE BEHAVIOR·
an habitual
behavior pattern that creates problems in or
interferes with a person's life. The individual
experiences a powerful desire to continue the
behavior in spite of its negative effects on his
or her social, domestic or work relationships.
Anxiety occurs when a fearful, threatening
situation apparently has no positive
resolution. In the environment in which
humans evolved, most of the threats were of
a physical nature. Physical threats, such as an
attack by a wild animal, tend to be resolved,
one way or another, rather quickly. It
therefore evokes fear, not anxiety. Emotional
threats, on the other hand, are often longterm and unresolved. They seem to comprise
the majority of the threats faced by modern
humankind.
Essential Time Orientation
Again, the underlying, condition that
motivates these behaviors is anxiety. The
behaviors are simply strategies that are
effective at reducing anxiety in the short term
but which exact a heavy toll down the line.
Stokes and Whitesides, in their book
Structural Neurology (revised edition), also
indicate that each of these behaviors has a
unique association and relationship to time:
Consider the employee who daily contends
with an overbearing, irritable, unreasonable
boss. His instinctive response to this
challenge to his self-esteem and emotional
wellbeing, is to confront his tormentor or
remove himself from the situation-the same
fight or flight reflex that comes on line with a
physical threat. But neither confrontation or
quitting seems to offer a positive outcome.
The result-an unresolvable emotional threat
that evokes feelings of anxiety.
Strategies
Phobias • Focused in the Past A phobia
is an extreme avoidance reaction to a current,
anxiety provoking stimulus based on its
similarity to a traumatic experience from the
past. For the phobic, in the presence of the
object of his fear/hatred, the present moment
doesn't exist-he is locked into the traumatic
past.
Addictions-Focused
in the Present.
Addictions are used to ignore painful, anxiety
provoking feelings and experiences that have
their basis in the past. It is an attempt to
remain focused in the present moment by
using the pleasure of the addictive substance
as a distraction from the anxiety.
For Dealing With Anxieties
Everyone has developed ways of handling
the anxiety in their lives. Some methods are
empowering and life sustaining, others are
not. Phobias, addictions and obsessive
behaviors are strategies for dealing with
anxiety. These behaviors effectively deal with
anxiety in the short term but are ultimately
counterproductive and limit the individual's
experience of life.
Obsessive Behaviors-Focused
in the
Future. Obsessions are habitual, ritualistic
or compulsive behaviors. The purpose of
these behaviors is to control the future and
thereby reduce the anxieties associated with
it. What's happening in the present moment
only has significance in the context of its
effect on the future. Now is never enough.
Things will be OK if I can only work harder,
make more money, bed more partners, keep
To ensure that we're talking about the same
thing, let's get some working definitions of
phobias, addictions and obsessive behaviors:
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Touch For Health International Journal, 1990
the house cleaner, be more perfect--or
whatever.
feeling of compulsion while using the
meridian tapping technique. If you want to
take your compulsive behavior defusion
skills to an even deeper and more effective
level, consider Three In One Concept's
Structural Neurology class. It combines
digital prioritization, age recession and other
skills to defuse the compulsive behavior at
the age of cause.
Each of these patterns of dealing with
anxieties are learned behaviors with their
roots in the past. They are very effective at
reducing or eliminating anxiety in the
moment. In the process, however, they leave
the individual feeling that they are out of
control, have no power and above all, have
no choice.
Subtle Shades Of Self-Sabotage
Restoring The Power Of Choice
At the beginning of this paper, I mentioned
that clarification of two important concepts
enabled me to greatly improve my ability to
use the phobia (addiction and obsession)
correction technique. The first concept was
anxiety and the second is reversal. When
Callahan discovered the phobia correction, he
found that it had no effect on a significant
portion (about 40%) of the people with
whom he worked. Further research enabled
him to identify the source of this problem.
One of the ways that individuals can regain
control, reassert their power and restore their
ability to choose, is to address the effects of
anxiety on the body's energy system.
Anxiety creates a disturbance and imbalance
in the energy system. It shows up as an over
energizied meridian that relates directly to the
anxiety. Our experience indicates that
approximately ninety percent of the time this
comes up on the stomach meridian, about
seven percent of the time on spleen meridian
and the remaining three percent on one of the
other meridians.
He found that sometimes a person's stated
desire ("I want to overcome my fear of
cats.") disorganized the system and caused a
switched off response from the indicator
muscle. On the other hand, the negative
statement ("I do not want to overcome my
fear of cats."), allowed the system to remain
organized and caused the indicator muscle to
stay switched on. Callahan named this
contradictory
response psychological
reversal. Because we are not psychologists,
and we want to avoid even the appearance of
prescribing and treating, we will simply call it
reversal.
The over-energy state can be normalized by
tapping the end or beginning point of the
affected meridian while thinking of the object
of the phobia, the addictive urge or the
obsessive compulsion. Think of the tapping
as draining the over-energy. This effectively
lowers the anxiety level and reduces or
eliminates the feelings of compulsion.
Conscious choice in the moment is restored
and appropriate, life enhancing options are
now possible.
Here is Callahan's definition of reversal:
When dealing with addictions it is ultimately
more effective to think of the source of the
anxiety while tapping the affected meridian
rather than the addictive urge. Likewise,
when dealing with obsessions, it is more
effective to focus on the underlying anxiety
rather than the compulsive urge. This
requires a good degree of self-awareness and
sensitivity,
however. Very often, a
component of addictive or obsessive
behaviors is a state of denial and being out of
touch with feelings.
REVERSAL • is a condition in which a
person states that he or she desires to achieve
a specific goal but his or her actions, major
motivations and especially results are
contrary to the stated goal. Superficially, he
or she strives to achieve the goal but
inevitably, grossly or subtley, sabotages his
or her own every effort. Others have called it
self-sabotage,
loser syndrome, selfdestructive behavior, and death instinct.
Essentially, reversal is the result of a conflict
between different levels of awareness.
Reversal seems to result from an unconscious
tendency toward self-denigration,expectation
If you are unable to identify the underlying
anxiety, don't worry about it. Just have the
individual think of the addictive urge or
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Touch For Health International Journal, 1990
and the SI-3 tap again. The affirmation can be
of failure and a lack of self-acceptance in one
or more areas of life. If, for example, I want
to quit smoking, I may view my addiction as
despicable and an indication of weakness. If I
try to quit and fail, this confirms my
suspicions that, in this area of my life at least,
I am essentially loathsome and destined to
fail.
used as a take-home excercise to be used any
time the individual notices negative self-talk
or negative feelings
towards self.
Eliminating the reversal will last longer if
used with age recession as indicated in the
procedural section below.
Eliminating reversals is a very potent tool.
You may want to spend some time examining
and clearing reversals in any area of life using
the procedure outlined by Joan Dewe in her
paper entitled Clearing Sabotage Programs in
last year's TFH Journal. It is important to
remember that no lasting progress can be
made in any area of self improvement in the
presence of a reversal. Clear any reversal on
an issue before using any other correction.
My self-talk, or stream of thoughts that I
think, when I smoke, will reflect and
reinforce my decision to look at myself in a
self-denigrating way. In essence, I am
holding outside the circle of self-love and
self-acceptance, the part of me that finds
comfort and shelter from anxiety in that
simple activity. While being held in
contempt, the aspect of self that enjoys
smoking has no reason to cooperate in ending
the addictive behavior. It knows from past
experience, that anything to do with quitting
smoking results in more hatred directed its
way.
Getting Out
Into Drive
Of Reverse
Before I outline the phobia, addiction and
obsession correction procedure, I want to
provide some definitions of terms I use:
MAJOR CORRECTION • the technique
for eliminating over-energy that causes the
feelings of anxiety and results in the phobic,
addictive or compulsive behavior. It involves
tapping the end or beginning points of the
affected meridian while thinking about the
object of the phobia, the addictive craving or
the behavioral compulsion.
And Back
This speaks beautifully to the need for love
and acceptance for every part of ourselves. It
also points out that when we want to make
changes in our behaviors, the source of our
motivation is important. If our motive stems
from self-contempt, it will be much more
difficult to accomplish than if the impetus
comes from a desire for self-improvement as
an expression of self-love.
GAMUT CORRECTION·
reinforces and
deepens the major correction by activating
and involving different portions of the brain.
It is used when, in the absence of reversal,
the major correction no longer produces
significant decreases in the level of anxiety.
Callahan found that with reversal present, the
phobia (addiction and obsession) correction
technique is totally ineffective. How then, do
you deal with reversal. Not surprisingly, the
procedure that eliminates the reversal (or
reverses the reversal, if you will) is a dose of
self-love. Making a statement of selfacceptance such as "I deeply and profoundly
love, accept and respect myself even though I
am addicted to cigarrettes" while tapping the
small intestine 3 acupuncture point (SI-3),
effectively takes care of the reversal, at least
temporarily.
MINI·REVERSAL
• is a reversal that
occurs during the middle of the major
correction. If the major correction and the
gamut correction produce no further
reduction in the anxiety level, the presence of
a mini-reversal is indicated. A mini-reversal
is cleared in the same way as a regular
reversal. No further progress will occur until
it's corrected.
RECURRING REVERSAL·
is a reversal that reoccurs immediately after it is
corrected. A recurring reversal can be cleared
by vigorously massaging the front neurolymphatics for the governing meridian (see
the illustration on the next page) while
repeating a statementof self-acceptance.
Because the self denigration, expectation of
failure and negative self-talk are habitual
behaviors, elimination of the reversal may be
only temporary. If the reversal returns,
simply use the affirmation of self-acceptance
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Touch For Health International Journal, 1990
Correction. 90% of all phobias overenergize the stomach meridian.
GV Neurolymphatics
for Recurring Reversal
•
c). If the indicator stays switched off,
place hand over a spleen meridian
alarm point, think of the phobia,
addiction or obsession and test
indicator muscle. If indicator
switches on, use the beginning or
end points of the spleen meridian for
the Major Correction.
d). In the rare instances that the indicator
still doesn't change, check the rest of
the alarm points and identify which
one causes an indicator change. Use
the end or beginning points of that
meridian for the Major Correction.
•
SP-21
4. Ask the individual to subjectivelyevaluate
the intensity of the phobia, addiction or
obsession on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1
is unnoticeable and 10 is unbearable. This
will be your baseline for later
comparison.
II. MAJOR CORRECTION
I. Check for and (if present) correct reversal
(see Section III on Reversal below).
PROCEDURES
I.
2. While thinking of the phobia, addiction or
obsession briskly and solidly tap the
appropriate points (as determined above)
at the beginning or end of the stomach or
spleen meridians. The intensity of the
phobia, addiction or obsession will begin
to reduce immediately.
EVALUATION
Do a Touch For Health balance, then:
1. Get a clear indicator muscle, check for
overload (switching), hydration and over
energy on the central and governing
meridians.
3. If the intensity of the anxiety or craving
doesn't reduce, check for mini-reversal
and (if present) correct (see Section IV on
Mini-Reversal below). If you had to
correct for reversal under step 1 of this
section, correct for recurring reversal (see
Section V on Recurring Reversal). Repeat
step 2.
2. Identify and think of the phobia,
addiction or obsession and test the
indicator muscle-it will switch off. If
not recheck your indicator muscle for
blocking.
3. Determine which meridian is over
energized by the anxiety or craving:
4. As you proceed, notice that the tapping
quickly reduces the intensity of the
anxiety or craving. Tapping alone may be
enough to bring the phobia, addiction or
obsession to the level of a 1. More
commonly, you will notice that the
anxiety or craving reduces significantly
but that the tapping doesn't bring it to the
level of a 1. At this point, use the Gamut
a). Place hand over the stomach
meridian alarm point, think of the
phobia, addiction or obsession and
test indicator muscle.
b). If indicator switches back on, use the
beginning or end points of the
stomach meridian for the Major
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Touch For Health International Journal, 1990
IV. MINI-REVERSAL
Correction (as described below) & then
continue tapping as in step 2 of this
section, until you reach an intensity level
of 1.
1. It is not uncommon during the Major
Correction process for the level of
intensity, after reducing significantly, to
resist further reduction even after the
Gamut Correction. If this occurs, check
again for reversal.
5. If at any time during the Major Correction
process, the level of intensity refuses to
reduce, repeat the Gamut Correction. If
that doesn't work, re-check for minireversal and correct.
2. If reversal is present, you have a minireversal. You can make no further
progress until it is cleared.
III. REVERSAL
1. To check for reversal ask the individual to
say "I want to overcome my
(stating the exact nature of the phobia,
addiction or obsession)." For example, "I
want to overcome my addiction to
alcoho1." If the indicator muscle stays
switched on, a reversal is not indicated. If
the statement causes the indicator to
switch off, correct the reversal. You can
make no further progress until the
reversal is corrected.
3. Age recess to the best age to clear the
mini-reversal by saying, "Take yourself
to the best age to clear this reversal.
Show me that you are there with an
indicator muscle change." It is not
necessary for the individual to verbalize
or even consciously know what age is on
line.
4. Verify the presence of the reversal at that
age by repeating step 1 of this section.
5. Tap the small intestine 3 (SI-3) acupuncture point on either hand briskly and
solidly 35 times while repeating the
statement "I deeply and profoundly love,
accept and respect myself even though I
(stating the exact nature
am
of the phobia, addiction or obsession)."
For example, "I deeply and profoundly
love, accept and respect myself even
though I am terrified of terriers."
2. Age recess to the best age to clear the
reversal by saying, "Take yourself to the
best age to clear this reversal. Show me
that you are there with an indicator
muscle change." It is not necessary for
the individual to verbalize or even
consciously know what age is on line.
3. Verify the presence of the reversal at that
age by repeating step I of this section.
6. Verify the defusion of the reversal at that
4. Tap the small intestine 3 (SI-3) acupuncture point on either hand briskly and
solidly 35 times while repeating the
statement "I deeply and profoundly love,
accept and respect myself even though I
am
(stating the exact nature of
the phobia, addiction or obsession)." For
example, "I deeply and profoundly love,
accept and respect myself even though I
am addicted to cigarettes."
age by repeating step 1 of this section.
The indicator muscle will now stay
switched on.
7. Instruct the person to return to the present
time. Check that the statement is still
clear.
8. Return to Major Correction and continue.
V. RECURRING
5. Verify the defusion of the reversal at that
age by repeating step 1 of this section.
The indicator muscle will now stay
switched on.
REVERSAL
1. Occasionally, after you correct a reversal
and then continue the Major Correction,
there will be no change in the level of
intensity. Recheck for reversal.
6. Instruct the person to return to the present
time. Check that the statement is still
clear.
2. If reversal is again present, you have a
rapidly recurring reversal- you can make
no further progress until it is corrected.
7. Proceed to Major Correction.
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Touch For Health International Journal, 1990
3. Age recess to the best age to clear the
recurring reversal by saying, "Take
yourself to the best age to clear this
reversal. Show me that you are there with
an indicator muscle change." It is not
necessary for the individual to verbalize
or even consciously know what age is on
line.
4. Verify the presence of the reversal at that
age.
5 . Massage, with deep pressure, the front
neuro-lymphatic points for the governing
meridian while repeating the statement "I
deeply and profoundly love, accept and
respect myself even though I am
____
(stating the exact nature of the
phobia, addiction or obsession)." For
example, "I deeply and profoundly love,
accept and respect myself even though I
am obsessed with cleaning house."
3. Locate the triple warmer 3 (TW-3) point
on either hand and tap briskly and solidly
15 times for each of the following steps:
a). hold eyes open
b). hold eyes closed
c). point eyes down and to the left
without moving your head
d). point eyes down and to the right
without moving your head
e). rotate your eyes in a complete circle
in either direction without moving
your head
f). rotate your eyes in a complete circle
in the opposite direction without
moving your head
g) hum a tune-any old tune will do
h) count or do times tables
i) hum again
6. Verify the defusion of the reversal at that
age.
7. Instruct the person to return to the present
time. Check that the statement is still
clear.
8. Return to Major Correction and continue.
VI. GAMUT CORRECTION
1. It is very common during the Major
Correction process for the intensity level
of the anxiety or craving to reduce
quickly and significantly but less than
completely. For example a phobia
originally at 9 may quickly reduce to 5 or
6 but then resist further reduction. In this
or any similiar situation, use the Gamut
Correction.
4. Instruct the person to return to the present
time.
5. Return to Major Correction and continue
until the level of intensity reaches 1.
Final Thoughts
Phobias may be simple or complex. A simple
phobia can be defused with one run-through
of the above procedure. In the case of a
complex phobia, each aspect of the phobia
will need to be defused. For example, a
phobic fear of flying may have several
components. It may involve fear of airplanes,
fear of getting on airplanes, fear of getting
lost in the terminal, fear of take-offs, fear of
landings etc. Each of these aspects will need
to be addressed separately.
2. Age recess to the best age to do the
Gamut Correction by saying, "Take
yourself to the best age to to do the
Gamut Correction. Show me that you are
there with an indicator muscle change." It
is not necessary for the individual to
verbalize or even consciously know what
age is on line.
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Touch For Health International Journal, 1990
satisfactory results. If you are interested in
sharing these techniques with your students
or clients, I have published a workbook,
titled Erasing Phobias, Addictions and
Obsessive Behaviors.
Addictions and obsessions may take repeated
corrections every time the addictive urge or
behavioral compulsion appears. No muscle
testing is necessary if the individual with the
compulsive behavior takes responsibility for
their own correction. They simply need to
ensure that there is no reversal present by
making the statement of self-acceptance and
tapping SI-3. Next they tap the previously
identified meridian end points for the Major
Correction. If the anxiety level isn't reduced
completely, they can do the Gamut
Correction procedure and then come back to
the Major Correction.
References
1. Callahan, Roger J., Five Minute Phobia
Cure, Enterprise Publishing, Wilmington, DE, 1985.
2. Dewe, Joan R., Break Through the
Boundaries
of Fear, page 34,
International Journal of Touch for Health,
July 1989.
Consider using the phobia technique in any
anxiety provoking circumstance. I use the
tapping to drain off the over-energy
whenever I feel it in my body-before a
major presentation or test for example--with
excellent results. I've found that using this
procedure has also helped me to "tune in" to
what my body is telling me about the
circumstances and situations of my life. By
knowing clearly what is threatening and
anxiety provoking, I have more options for
handling the situation.
3. Dewe, Joan R., Clearing Sabotage
Programs, page 34, International Journal
of Touch for Health, July 1989.
4. Margrave, Thomas R., Erasing Phobias,
Addictions and Compulsive Behaviors,
The Institute For BodyMind Integration,
Omaha, NE, 1990.
5. Stokes, Gordon and Whitesides, Daniel,
Structural Neurology (revised edition),
Three In One Concepts, Burbank, CA,
1989.
If you learn and follow the steps detailed
above, you are almost certain to have
extremely
positive
and completely
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